


Josh Washington x Reader

by Lumanom



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Male-Female Friendship, Rivalry, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 12:31:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5004886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumanom/pseuds/Lumanom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Halloween, and you've been invited to Josh Washington's fancy dress party at the Washington Estate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Josh Washington x Reader

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoy!

You couldn’t help but keep glancing over at him. There was just some sort of allure that made him all the more interesting. Each time a party light illuminated his face, you could feel yourself smile. Josh had attended his own horror halloween party as slasher antagonist, Jason Vorhees, and boy did he look convincing. Though, he’d twisted his mask around to watch his friends and family dance. His eyes flicked up in your direction, smile faltering.

Swearing under your breath, you twisted on the spot and walked out of the dark, music filled room, spilling some of the sickly spirit from your red party cup onto your hand. It’s pungent peach smell stung your nose and you frowned. As you moved through the heavily decorated Blackwood lodge, you bumped into Mike. A heavily makeup caked Mike, anyway.

“Oh, ______, you made it!”

You nodded, curtsying in your blood splattered Alice in Wonderland dress, ignoring the sticky feeling of the spilt drink all over your hand.

He grinned and wiggled his fingers at you, plastic scissors carefully taped to the ends. He was Edward Scissorhands, complete with black wig and all. He laughed again and motioned you to follow him. Wanting to get away from the room where the man you admired stood, you decided to take him up on his offer. Walking through the dark halls of the lodge, you spluttered as you came face first with spiderwebs.

“Oh, gross, are these actual spiderwebs?!” You said between choking breaths, “ugh, gross, gross!”

Mike waved his scissor hands out infront of him, clearing away the mixture of fake and real webbing, meandering his way through a cluster of chatting people and taking you to the entrance of the basement. After the first corner, all of the lights were off. The cement staircase plunged into darkness.

“I’m not going down there,” you started, “if that’s what you’re suggesting. You know how I feel about the dark.”

You gripped your cup tighter as Mike put on his best puppy dog expression behind all of his white makeup, and took you by the elbow as you moaned a little and moved step by step down through the stairwell. Anything to distract yourself from Josh, sure, but this, was a little too creepy.

“Don’t worry, it’s just where the halloween games are taking place. Like apple dunking and shit.”

Frowning, you turned the corner and moved deeper into the dark, “Mike, I honestly don’t think I can go down these stairs,” you said quietly, holding your hands up to your chest, “even if…”

“Honestly, _______, chill,” he said, mildly annoyed, as he lead you around another corner and into a room that was decorated in just red mood lighting, with real candles flickering on old antique tables, and pretend murals drawn on the walls in chalk and paint.

“Jesus,” you said quietly, absentmindedly taking a sip of your drink, “Josh really went to town on this one.”

“Mike, ______, you made it!” Emily grinned, clapping her leather gloved hands together and stepping towards you both. She was dressed in a half black, half white, extremely tight dress. A black veil covered half of her face and black lipstick adorned her large lips. Batting her eyelids, she took a drag of a cigarette that she probably shouldn’t have been smoking in the basement. She was Cruella de Ville, puppy slaughterer. She grabbed you by the shoulders and you laughed nervously as she lead you and Mike past the apple bobbing and into and even darker room, this one only lit by candle light. You were greeted by a few other of your friends. As your eyes adjusted, you saw that a ring of large pillows were arranged on the ground, and an empty vodka bottle sat on its side in the middle.

Oh. Spin the bottle.

You sat between Mike and Chris, with Emily sitting opposite you. Ashley was sitting quietly on Chris’ other side, whilst Jess had chosen the other side of Mike. You really hoped that you didn’t land on either of them. Hell, maybe this would just be truth or dare. Slowly some of the others mingled into the room, including Josh. The second he stepped into the room, even in the dim light, you had to look away. You saw the Sam wander in behind him, giving him looks that you knew you were guilty of giving him too, although more secretively. Your chest tugged with jealousy.

“Okay!” Emily grinned, in the dimly lit room, after everybody had settled into their pillows, “you all know the rules. Truth or dare. If you bail out, you get, I dunno, a super sick dare?”

Everyone nodded.

“Sweet, so, oldest first? Care to spin the bottle?” Emily directed herself to Josh, whose face burst into a playful grin as he leant forward to spin the empty glass bottle. You found yourself staring at him as if he were a daydream, and found it hard to look away. It wasn’t until you again spotted Sam watching him with a faint smile, did you drop your gaze. Even in the almost dark room, you could see the love she had for him on her features. The only thing you had going for you was that they weren’t even dating. Knowing your luck, after the party, they probably would be.

You had been friends with Josh Washington for just as long as Sam had been, but for all intents and purposes, she had found ways to get there first. If he said he was going somewhere, she’d offer to go with before you even had a chance. If he needs a dance partner, she’s there before anyone even knew he’d have been dancing alone. Jealous again bubbled in your gut, and you felt a gentle prod in the side from Mike. He was, probably, the only one who knew how you felt for the eldest of the Washingtons. You looked up at him and he was smiling at you with his eyes. Trying to be helpful, as always. You smiled back.

“Oooh, Ashley!” Emily cooed, batting her eyelashes, as the girl dressed as a skeleton looked like someone had poured a bucket of fear across her features, “truth or… daaaare?”

“Uh, um, truth…?”

Almost everyone giggled in some way, and Chris turned a bright shade of red, and she hadn’t even been asked a question yet. Everyone but Chris and Ashley dove into whispers and giggles as the two gave each other worried side-glances.

After a few minutes, and after everyone had composed themselves, Sam smiled and sat up straight. Every little movement she made, made your gut wrench and twist. Josh was smiling at her, even now. You dropped your eyes to your lap and opted to just listen. At this point, you were glad that the lighting was extremely dim. Nobody would be able to see you mope.

“Have you fucked Christ yet?”

Almost everyone roared into laughter, and even you couldn’t help but contain a smile. Everyone knew about that budding relationship between the couple, so it was only a matter of time before they had sealed the deal. Chris was about to speak before Ashley cut over him.

“So?” She whispered for his benefit, before looking back at the rest of the group and smiling, “oh, he took me to the bone zone, alright.”

Everyone whooped with laughter again, with Josh clapping his hands together and throwing his head back with a cackle, “I knew it’d catch on!” he said between laughs, “didn’t I say!”

The game went on, with a few more dirty little secrets being squeezed out of people by Emily and Jessica, whilst the boys opted to get the girls to do dares they knew they wouldn’t want to do. Like, for instance, dunking their head into one of the apple bobbing buckets for a whole ten seconds - which would ruin their makeup.

Obviously, the most exciting of the dares were the romantically themed ones.

You watched, a little happier now - though whether this was the alcohol talking, you couldn’t tell - as the bottle span around for the thousandth time, landing neatly on Josh. Everyone starting devising their ideas straight away, as this was the first time Josh had been landed on the whole game.

“Hold ooon,” the slightly inebriated man called, “I haven’t even chosen one yet!”

Everyone paused.

“Dare!”

And just like that, the devising resumed. You and Chris had a solid idea for Josh to go and hit on one of his female cousins, who were still partying upstairs, but instead, as per usual, Emily’s idea was the one that took fruition. Your chest swirled in anticipation, and slightly of dread, as she sent a sneering look in your direction. It might have been a trick of the light, due to the flicking candles, but you weren’t entirely sure. Was this dare meant to hurt you? Or, were you involved, maybe?

“Josh…” she started, voice curt, “has to go in the closet with…” your heart hammered in your chest, and your mind raced. No. She wasn’t really going to do this... Emily took a small breath, glancing at you, “...Sam. For seven minutes in heaven.”

Your throat felt blocked and your chest tightened. That was worse. Way, way worse that you being the one in the closet. One half of you wanted to die, and the other half of you wanted to die too - when you saw the half-fake shocked expression dance across Sam’s features. You didn’t dare to look at Josh’s face. He was probably grinning from ear to ear, too. That goofy, natural grin.

Mike squeezed your thigh, saying nothing. And really, he didn’t have to. He knew how you were feeling, and you were honestly grateful that he understood. You watched the peripheral of your vision as Sam got to her feet and helped Josh up. Before they both disappeared into a cupboard that was back in the red-tinted apple bobbing room. Emily set a timer on her phone and then went to spin the bottle again. You could feel the enthusiasm draining out of you.

To you, it was the longest seven minutes of your life, and all you could do was imagine Sam sucking Josh’s face off, and him reciprocating. You couldn’t help but imagine him realising his feelings for her, and the couple then come waltzing out of the closet, hand in hand, declaring their love for one another. Oh god, how you really didn’t want that to happen.

“______, truth, or dare,” Emily said to you, the sly demeanour still evident on her features, she must have known how you felt towards Josh. Dread encased you as you wondered how many other people knew. Was it that obvious? Or had Mike just gone and told everyone?

“Uh, dare,” you said quietly, not really paying attention. Once again, the rest of the room dove into whispers. You wondered whether they were going to make you go into a room with someone, too. A little bit of you wished it was Mike, because then at least you could confront him about how some people knew about your little crush. Or maybe just so you could have a chat with him, a bit of a breather.

“Fifteen minutes, alone, no light, in the deepest corner of the basement,”

Fear gently begun creeping up your body, “oh come on,” you said quietly, “you know how I don’t like the dark…”

“That’s the whole point!” Emily gleefully smiled, probably a little too happily. Matt gently touched her elbow and she stuttered, “I-I uh, I mean, it’ll be okay, you know it’ll be fine.”

Pouting, the half of the group stood up and Jess tied a bandanna around your face, shrouding whatever light was even in the room from your view. Your breathing was shallow, and you could feel the butterflies of anxiety twisting and turning in your abdomen, ready to burst out at any second. This was not going to be good, especially since you left your mobile phone - and therefore flashlight - upstairs in the makeshift cloakroom, and since the basement of the old skiing lodge was absolutely massive.

Almost as quick as you were hustled out of the room, the giggles and laughter left you, drowning out in the distance. All of the hands that had ushered you into the darkness slipped from your touch, even Mikes, who you were sure was the one with their hands clamped securely onto your shoulders. Slowly, you lifted your arms, and peeled away the blindfold.

The darkness of the cellar was no different. It was just as dark.

Fear filled you to the brim, dripping over the sides and coating your skin, too. Lip quivering, you found yourself slinking to the floor, hands reaching out across the cement ground. Instantly, your left hand came in contact with something slick and wet, which sent you straight to your feet, shrieking.

You lifted your hand as close to your face as you dared and smelt was was coating you palms, and the unmistakeable stench of copper and rot met your nostrils. Gagging, you wiped your hand across the bandanna you had been given, before tossing the soiled garment to the ground.

“Why… is there blood?” You whispered to yourself, voice shakier than you imagined.

A metallic crash came from somewhere behind you, and you spun on the spot. There was a distant shout; female. Okay, so the rest of your ‘friends’ must be that way.

Slowly, with arms reached out in front of you, you began taking tender steps forward, trying desperately to focus on something. Though, it was just so damn dark, you couldn’t even see your hands. You felt completely blind.

After a few seconds where you felt like you’d been cast out into nothing, your fingertips came in contact with a doorframe. Trying to steady your breathing, you inched your way through it, moving down a hallway that actually had a little better visibility than the others.

There was a slight tug on your foot, and suddenly, a rotting corpse swung down from the ceiling, eyes glowing amber and jaw hanging agape, a mixture of a whimper and a scream escaped your lips and you pushed past it, opting this time for running through the dark. More cobwebs plastered themselves across your face, and you caught your foot on something else, sending you collapsing to the floor, not before a bucket of water came washing down from the ceiling. Luckily, only half of the lower part of your dress got soaked, and you managed to rip yourself to your feet. Shivers ran through your body.

Panic rose through you and your hands were shaking uncontrollably. The dumbing effects of alcohol were now more than out of your system, and you could feel the butterflies that were stuck in your chest starting to eke out to the rest of your body. This was a panic attack.

Frozen to the spot, you couldn’t feel anything but the pounding of your heart and the pins and needles that rocketed to your feet and fingertips. Darkness enveloped you and you couldn’t even scream.

Your eyes darted to a small source of light, and relief washed over you in waves as you spotted the night sky. This was your way out.

Half scrambling, you got yourself to the window, almost punching it open. You threw yourself out into the night and rolled slightly, skin coming in contact with snow. You shuddered and pulled yourself to your feet, the dull sound of a drum and bass beat distant. Shivering, you gathered yourself and shakily begun the short journey around the exterior of the lodge, to get to the main entrance. You could feel light snow melting against your flushed face. Thoughts were hard to muster in your mind, and you couldn’t do anything but stumble forward.

There were a few shouts from up ahead, but you didn’t look up. There was a distinct ringing in your head but it just wouldn’t stop. The pins and needles continued to throb and warp through your veins. You stumbled onto your knees, hands crunching into the snow. Numbness had enveloped your entire body, and your partially soaked dress stuck to your legs. The distant voice called out again, but you ignored it. It was hard to differentiate between the pain and the cold.

Dragging yourself to your feet, you felt two hands roughly grab you by the wrists, and you were enveloped into someone's arms.

“_____, what the hell did they do to you?”

It didn’t take long, but eventually warmth soaked through your muscles, and you felt your fingers clench gently. Opening you eyes, you saw you had been changed out of your costume and into a large baggy shirt and black sweatpants. You didn’t recognise the room around you, as it was very dark. Fear started to pick at your senses again, until you realised the scent that surrounded you was entirely that of Josh.

Your most clear thought came barraging into the forefront of your mind.

Who the hell changed me out of my dress?

The distant thumping of music got louder only for a moment, as the door to the room opened and closed. Pulling yourself up into a sitting position, you pawed at the soft material throw that had been draped over the bed.

“Hello?”

“Oh, _____, Jesus, are you alright?”

You wanted to shrink back into the quilt and disappear. Josh quietly moved to your side and sat on the bed, compressing it down. You tried your hardest to not move toward where he was sitting. The look on his face was one of pity, and anger bubbled through you. Was he in on that game? Did he and Sam make out? Jealousy spiked in your chest.

“Heelloo, _____? You there?”

You could feel a pressure welling up behind your eyes.

He softened his voice, “if anything, I didn’t know they sent you further down into the basement. That scary room, thing, was meant to be tackled as a group, by all of us. You weren’t meant to be alone.”

“Well, I was,” you said under your breath, blinking away tears of embarrassment and anger, “and it was horrible.”

He frowned at you, and you looked him in the eye. But all you could imagine was he and Sam all over each other in a dark, hot closet. Pursing your lips, you went to move away from him, and get off of the bed on the other side, but a strong hand gripping your arm stopped you in your tracks.

“What else is bothering you, _____?”

No, you couldn’t say. Not here. Not like this. Not after that.

“Is it because of Sam?”

Tears brimmed your eyes again, and you pulled yourself straight from his grip, not wanting to face him. Heat rose to your cheeks.

“I’m going back downstairs,” you muttered, wiping at your eyes.

“_____, we didn’t do anything together.”

“I don’t care.”

It was true, you didn’t. You knew how much closer he and Sam were. They had a real connection. They were made to be together, their personalities complimented the other. You gritted your teeth and moved to the door, spotting your wet dress dumped in a laundry basket next to the door. You sighed and opened the door.

A hand appeared next to you and closed it roughly, and a lump rose to your throat.

“I’m not kidding around,” Josh said quietly, sincere. You turned on the spot to face him head on, and his nose was dangerously close to yours, you could almost feel his breath on your face, “I’ve been trying to get your attention all evening. I really wanted Emily to put you in the closet with me so I could explain myself. I’m not joking. I didn’t want to fool around or, um, anything.”

“But I’ve seen how Sam looks at you,” you whispered, trying to find a comfortable place to look on his face. He was just so close…

“And I’ve noticed how you’ve been looking at me, for a long time. Not just at this party,” he cooed, grinning. That toothy, confident grin. You couldn’t help but smile at him too, there was just something about that smile he has.

You paused, “did you… uh, did you undress me?” You motioned to your, or well, his clothes.

“I didn’t look, I swear!” He yelped, jumping back, “I swear! Plus Jess did most of it, I just got you dry clothes!”

You smiled, picking at the hem of the shirt. All around you was Josh’s smell, and the man himself was standing in front of you. Confidence bubbled through your system and you sighed. Maybe he was right. You’d caught him stealing glances just as many times as he’d caught you.

“And,” he continued, and you looked up, “... I saw how you reacted when Emily did choose Sam. It might have been dark, I saw that look.”

You smiled softly and looked at the ground, just as he reached out and took your hands in his. Meeting his gaze, you could feel the blood rushing to your cheeks.

“What they did was crazy stupid, and I’m sorry it happened to you.”

Before even giving you a chance to respond, he pulled you into a tight hug and settled your head into the crook of his head. You could feel yourself relax against him, and you let your arms wrap around to grip at his shirt. Your eyes slid shut as you felt him breathe against you.

Pulling away, you left a small kiss on his neck, letting the confidence take you over momentarily. You felt him chuckle against you as he pulled you back to face him, when he then leant forward and planted a solid kiss straight against your lips. Heat flustered to your face, and you both smiled into the kiss. Slowly, you moved your hands up to grip his hair and push him closer towards you. You felt him exhale with pleasure, and you did the same, before pulling out of the kiss and beaming up at him with a broad, bright, happy smile. He smiled back.

 

Your thoughts made you ever so more elated: Take that, Sam.

**Author's Note:**

> ... well, did you enjoy it? :^)


End file.
